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Monday, March 19, 2018

Mangave mystery box

A couple of weeks ago I proclaimed 2018 to be the year of the mangave. This was based on the ever increasing number of hybrids becoming available in nurseries, and the growing popularity of these harmless half-siblings of the spiky agave. If you haven't seen the variety of leaf textures and colors offered by the latest crop of mangaves, check out my earlier post. I'm sure you'll find a few that you like even if you're not fond of agaves.

A week after my mangave post, UPS delivered two mystery boxes to our doorstep. Guess what was inside?

Box 1:

Box 2:

These notes taped to the sides of the boxes gave it away:

Yep, a veritable treasure chest of mangaves, including some that won't be widely available until later this year.

Succulent and More has a very generous supporter!

Here are my new babies after I unpacked and cleaned them:

There are some broken leaves, but mangaves are fast growers. Soon you won't be able to tell.

I now have almost all mangage cultivars commercially available, and I will be able to provide regular progress reports on how they fare in our climate. I plan on planting most of them in a large raised bed in the backyard, at least initially. When they're bigger, I will move them to permanent spots throughout the garden. One, ×Mangave 'Carnival', is already in its forever home in a tall planter in the front yard.

Score! I wish I could plant mine in the ground. I left one in the back garden as an experiment and it's a mushy mess. The three M. 'Inkblot' in the container in the front garden though, they're looking like they're gonna pull through.